Rescuers and volunteers evacuate a wounded person from an apartment building damaged during a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Sumy, Ukraine March 24, 2025. REUTERS/Stringer
(Reuters) -A Russian missile attack hit a densely-populated district of Ukraine's northeastern city of Sumy, wounding 88 people, including 17 children, on Monday as ceasefire talks ploughed on, officials said.
Regional governor Volodymyr Artiukh announced the latest casualty toll on national television. He said many more children had escaped injury as they had been evacuated to air raid shelters.
"They were in the area in a densely-populated area hit by the enemy strike," Artiukh told the television.
"Two schools fell within the impact zone. I was present when our rescuers cleared the locations where the children were. They were in protective structures. All the children were rescued and evacuated to a safe place."
Several high-rise residential blocks in the city centre were also damaged.
Artiukh had earlier spoken in a video that he said was shot at the scene with heavy black smoke, fires and a car with shattered windows in the background. Smoke also rose from the upper floors of a five-storey residential block nearby.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy deplored the attack in his nightly video address as the latest example of "losses, pain and destruction, something Ukraine never wanted."
The missile struck the city as Russian and U.S. officials met in Saudi Arabia to discuss a possible ceasefire.
Zelenskiy said Russia was "the only entity prolonging this war and tormenting both our people and the entire world.
"To force Russia into peace, strong measures and decisive actions are needed," he said. "We are ready to support every strong initiative that makes diplomacy more effective."
Foreign Minister Adrii Sybiha said Moscow was speaking of peace "while carrying out brutal strikes on densely populated residential areas in major Ukrainian cities."
"Instead of making hollow statements about peace, Russia must stop bombing our cities and end its war on civilians," Sybiha said.
Acting Sumy mayor Artem Kobzar said on Telegram an industrial facility was attacked but did not name it.
Sumy, about 30 km (20 miles) from the Russian border, comes under constant drone and missile strikes from Russia.
(Reporting by Yuliia Dysa, Ron Popeski and Oleksandr KozhukharEditing by Bernadette Baum, Andrew Heavens and Deepa Babington)
